Political System

FEDERAL SYSTEM: India a union of states is a Sovereign, Secular, and Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The Indian Polity is governed in terms of the constitution, which came into force on 26th Nov, 1950.

Politics in India take place within the framework of its constitution, as India is a federal parliamentary democratic republic, in which the President of India is the head of the country and the Prime Minister of India is the head of the government.

India follows the dual polity system, i.e. a double government which consists of the central authority at the centre and states at the periphery. The constitution defines the organization powers and limitations of both central and state governments, and it is well-recognized, rigid and considered supreme; i.e. laws of the nation must conform to it.

There is a provision for a bicameral Union legislature consisting of an Upper House, i.e. Rajya Sabha, which represents the states of the Indian federation and a lower house i.e. Lok Sabha, which represents the people of India as a whole. The Indian constitution provides for an independent Judiciary which is headed by the Supreme Court. The court's mandate is to protect the constitution, to settle disputes between the central government and the states, inter-state disputes, to nullify any central or state laws that go against the constitution and protect fundamental rights of citizens, issuing writs or their enforcement, in case of violation.

The governments, union or state, are formed through elections held every five years (unless otherwise specified), by parties that claim a majority of members in their respective lower houses (Lok Sabha in centre and Vidhan Sabha in states).

In recent decades, Indian politics has become a dynastic affair. The reasons for this state of affair could be the absence of a party organization, independent civil society associations that mobilize support for the party, and centralized financing of elections.

India is the largest Democratic & Republic country in the world. In a Democracy people have the privilege of being ruled by a government of their own choice as people choose their representatives through elections.

These elections should be held:                          

1. Freely                     

2. Fairly                      

3. Transparently                     

4. Impartially